5 Things To Know About China's Yulin Dog Meat Festival

The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, otherwise known as the Yulin Dog Festival, kicked off in southern China this week, amid a fevered pitch of demands from the international community for the city to halt the controversial event.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 07: Campaigners submit an 11 million signature petition calling for an end to China's Yulin dog meat festival at Chinese Embassy London on June 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images)

Critics of the festival, which this year have included celebrity condemnations from Matt Damon, Rooney Mara, and Joaquin Phoenix in a widely circulated PSA from non-profit organization Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, have said that the festival is barbaric and baseless. Proponents meanwhile have argued that the practice of eating dog in Asia is a cultural one that predates modern history, and should be respected as a cultural tradition.

Here are five facts to know about this divisive Asian event.

1. It's pretty new.

The festival has only existed since 2010, though dog hot-pots became popular within Yulin in the 90’s. Consumption of dog meat has taken place in China and the rest of Asia since before written history, however. Dog meat purportedly helps alleviate heat exhaustion, which has led to popularity on summer menus.

2. It's pretty dirty.

Beyond cruelty concerns, many opponents of the festival cite serious hygienic concerns of the meat itself. In line with the belief that tortured dogs will provide better meat, conditions with which dogs are transported and slaughtered are often poor and treated with little oversight. Many of the dogs are unvaccinated, and rabies is a high concern.

3. An estimated 10,000 dogs are expected to be killed at this year’s festival.

At least according to the Yulin government, which released a statement to Chinese newswire Xinhua in 2014 [article in Chinese] that described the festival as a local custom recognized by only a small percentage of residents.

5. Prices of dog meat dishes at the festival keep mounting – and no one is sure if that’s good or bad.

Some believe that the increasing costs at the festival is a reflection of less supply for restaurants, indicating that fewer meat vendors and slaughterhouses are willing to sell the controversial commodity. Another argument is that the press the festival has attracted has greatly increased the exposure of the event, with participating venues using the opportunity to cash in.

I edit and manage the Asia channel, based out of Hong Kong. I've previously lived in London, Shanghai, and Beijing, and my work has appeared in The Washington Post, Time Out, and Forbes. I'm passionate about Asia, its startups, and new media - exactly what I get to work with...